Cetrifugally-regulated power-transmission system.



w. MORRISON. CENTRTFUGALEY REGULATED PowEn TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8. |915. 1,176,396.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

w. MORRISON.

LLLLLLLLLLLLL REGULATED POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.

APPLICAT .l NE 8. 1915. 1-, 176,396. Y Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

4 EEEEEEEEEEEE 2.

W. MORRISON.

CENTRIFUGALLY REGULATED POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, |915.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

4 SHEETS-:REE 3 W. MORRISON. CENTRIFUGALLY REGULATED POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8. i915.

. 1,176,396. Patented Mar. 21,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Wai. w/Jmw YUNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. y

-wILLIAM'I/Ionnrson. orcnrcaeo, ILLINOIS.

' r y i QQ; CENTBIFUGALLY-BEGULATED POWER-TRANSMISSION SYSTER, J ajh Speccation of Letters Patent.

To all whom'z't may concern.' A 1 Be it known that I, WILLIAM MoRnIsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the c ounty of. Cook and StateI of Illinois, have invented certain newl and useful Improvements in Centrifugally-Revulated Power-Transmission Systems, of which Y Nos. 1,126,059, 1,126,060, 1,126,061,13atented though broadly January 26,1915; and is particularly intended for use in connection with the system and controlling mechanism shown 1n my Patent 1,148,788, patentedAug. 3, 1915, al-4 adapted for use with powerv transmission systems involving the' use of dynamo-electr1c clutches.

I n the prior patents above referred to, I

have described a system of power-transmission particularly adapted for driving automobiles, in which the power-shaft of the usual variable speed engine is connected to the load shaft through a dynamo-electric,

1 current-generating clutch, whereof the rotransmission through current su tatable armature and :rotatable field are con,- nected one to the power' shaft and thev other to the load shaft, a lstorage battery being connected to the system.- This dynamo-elecat relativel fiytient for the clutching action, the

energy developedv by the engine above that requiredjfor clutching ,being available for shaft. The armature rotor is provided with a 'commutator having an 'internal surface lagainst which bear the brushes carried by the field rotor,- these brushes serving not 'only as .current collecting devices, but because of proper proportioning and adjustment, asV the pressure member ot' a centrifugal clutch, the other member being the commutator rlng.

' automobile thus equipped, the dynamo-elech rotors that the tric clutch at relatively low speeds generates crrentat a voltage substantially equalto or slightly above that of the storage battery. As the speed increases, the centrifugal .clutching action becomes greater and greater until it reaches a point at which it will be suicient to so diminish the slip between the generated voltage will .be less than that of the storage battery.

My present invention consists in adding the clutch to the load- Inthe operation of anA is a detail s aus@ Patented Mar. 21, 191e.

Application led. .Tune 8, 1915. l Serial-No. 32,952.

to the system above described, an' automatic lcut-out, acting upon the 'increasing'.speed of factonhowever, decreasing as the speed of the automobile and the resulting centrifugal clutching increases, until the two rotors may have very little, or even no,relative motion', so that there' is little or no current'flowing through. the field coils, the car being driven largely or wholly through the centrifugal clutch. In practice'thisclutching action between'the brushes and commutator ring has been found to be entirely suiicient, but a separate centrifugal clutch may be used, as described in my Patent No. 1,126,060, patented January 26, 1915..

I am aware that automatic cut-outs have fore been associated with generators to cut out storage batteries from the circuit, and I make no claim to such acombination; but I believe I am the first to combine an automatic'cut-out with' a system of the kind above described, whereby anew result is produced; viz., that the upon the acceleration of thev automobile.

-Referring to thevdrawings: Figure 1 is a diagram of the system, the controller beshown -in perspective, with the magnets omitted; Fig. 2 is 'a plan of the controller; Fig. Sis a front view of the controller, looking in the direction of the arrow III in Fig'. 2; Fig. 4 is a back view ot' the controller, looking in the direction of thearrow IV in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the controller on plane V-V of Fig. Ll; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a connecting bar; Figj is a vertical section if permitted, not only wasting.

this latter battery is cut out on plane VIII*VIII of Fig. 2; and Fig. 8

.the coils of two electro-magnets M, M.

showing the lever system by Formed integrally ywith the casing is (Fig.

) a vertical transverse web 8 from-Which' respectively To binding-posts on the bars c?, 02,020?, '05, c are connected the Wires 15 e1, e?, e3, e, e5, e", and1to binding posts on the bars (Z1, cl2, da, d", d?, d are lco1 in ec t. =,d

The member A (Fig. 4) ismade 11p-'of 'conducting plates A1, A2, A3, and the member B (Fig. 3) is made up of conductingv bars or plates B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6. 4These plates 'arefastened to but insulatedA from thev -armatures 1, 2, Whichvare secured tothevends ofrods 4,6arranged-to1slide onl the casing 2619, -and alsojto the ,endsyof .rod.v;5. assing throughan-openmgfin thecore 7. Xpansion Asprings 8.','surroundircds -4 and 6 fand bear-against the abutment guides 1 0 and against'- the armatures. vCurrent from a.

'30 batteryis delivered to magnet coil M through Wiresf11,`12,sec11red to angle-bars 27,27', boltedto the base. .Wires 13, 14, also connected respectively to these bars leadtothe ends of a resistance coil 1'". l

15 anldl are Wires, connected to bars 47,

47', leading from magnet coil M to a separate battery, these Wires being lconnected through Wires 17, 18 to resistance coil r2.

VAsshown at 'the lower right hand of Fig.

40 2,'a carbon contact 241s secured to the anv /gle bar 27, to which Wires 12 and 14 are connected, and a corresponding movable carbon Contact v25 is carried on ga rod 28 passing through an opening i-n arm 30, bolt- 45 ed tothe movable member B, Which by its outward movement breaks. the Contact 'at' 24,

25, thereby introducing into circuit of magnet'coil M, the resistance r. The parts are so --timed in operation that the spring26 I .50 keeps the contacts 24, 25 in, engagement until near the end of the movement of member B, j the full current strength passing throughthe coil M until the contacts 24,25 are separated by-arm 2O engaging the head 29 of rod 2, the current then being reduced by .reslstancevr to an amount sufhcient-to hold the armature 1in its attracted position, even against the pull of magnet M on itsthen distant armature 2, should the controlling circuit of fthis 4.magnet -M be closed., A similar devicefis operatedby the arm 31,'bolted to member A.

Electrically connected (see Fig. 5) to each one of the brushes carried by the members A 55' and B* is a carbon-contact 19,'and slidingly .further descriptionl Fig. 1, themagnets M, M,"have been, for

Vconnnu'tator ring F.' Bearing against the rin gs.

mounted and 'opposite each one of these contacts 19, is a second contact -20Y carried on a ro'd 21,- sliding ina socket 22.v A .spring 2 3 keeps the contact 20 normally` in outward.- position, the parts being so arrangedthat 7o the carbon contacts engage before thelleaf# i spring brushes engage with the ends of the connecting bar, .and remain in contact until 'after the leaf-spring brushes have broken their contacts. Any sparking', therefore,

'takes-place at the carbon contacts.

The details of lconstruction of one Vconnecting bar ce, and all are alike, areshown in Fig. 6, ,and Will ,be apparent vvvithout -The conductor b rs of the controller are made of alurn'imnn,;andV are die-cast. to-exact shape. The magnetcoreand casmgare of scft'iron or mild steel. The-wiresa-re asbestos `coated, so that: the :whole structure 85 .isaeonapaet, simple, and reproof.

It-will be'noted :that thc various parts are allzof simplev shape, easjlymanufactured @amd-easy to assemble. Referring nOW-toEi-g. lyyhhisvsa dwf grammatic representation of the system -with'which thecontroller is used, 'the v arious connections andthe operation ofithe system as4 a whole will be described. In

clearness,shown apart from the controller.

M2 is a' gas-engine having secured `-to its shaftL- the armature` G, having an internal inside-'offths ringer@ brushes E', E2, carried-.on brush-holders E, Et, secured to the4 field-magnet structure H, here shown as having tivo poles, th ough in practice twelve poles areused, 2with* three brushes for each pole,; sog5that a considerable friction clutch- 105 ving action `will. result fromthe, centrifugal yforce dne;t0 rotation Thev eld-magnetis mounted en the drivenshaftL which is ccn- --necte'd -through suitable transmission gearing'IQ'in theusual Way, to the-driving axle 110 ofthe-automobile. Onithe shaft 'I are four rings 1D?, 192,138, DS1-to which. arefcunnetd the vdynamo 'brushes and field-coils. ..3111A practice, the field coils are connectedl in sets,

the general method of arrangement-bei'- however, the; same asthat shown. Brushes' T1, T2, T3, Tttake the current ffrom th es e The -thrcttle `valve-nis actuated either from a foot pedal Q, or from a handlever 126 P mounted on the steering-wheel of the auvtomobile. The footpedal O -is pivoted at O2 and has an arm 50 connected, by a'link `51, to acrank arrnfonfthe rock Vshaft 52.l

A secondfcrankarnr?) is connected by a125 link 54 to the. operating lever "of the ,admission valve n, O" being aretracting spring. Thehand lever P is mounted on-the end of a shaft extending through the steering- `pedestal..which shaft has at itsenda .crank 13o to negative. endof battery C,'.and so arm 61 connected by a link 60 to the crank arm 59 on a rock shaft 58'which has at its other end a crank arm 57 connected by a flexible cable 56 to a crank arm 55 on the rock shaft 52. The retracting spring O re- Stores the parts, in the usual way, to the normal position in which the admission valve n 1s kept slightly open, to keep the engine running. The hand lever is providedA with the usual friction means for keeping it in its adjusted position while the foot' pedal, when the hand lever P is in the off position, may be independently operated. In practice, the hand lever ,P is seldom used except during the engine-starting opera tions, the foot pedal mainlybeing used during the running of the car.

Q is a spring blade on.. the end of the arm 50 for bridging the long contacts R, S, which are long enough to remain in contact with -the blade Q in all the wider open positions of the 'admission valve. The blade Q is arranged to make and maintain connection between these contacts during the movement of the throttle levers but to break this connection in the most retracted or minimum-gas position."

To facilitate the starting of the engine, the additional switch V is provided in the circuit of the magnet M, and until this switch isclosed, this magnet cannot be energized to connect the circuits into the running position. The switch V has a body of insulated material o, with a notched vportion having a conducting strip o1, with which are arranged toengage two spring terminals '02,112 When the body o is pushed down, these springsV o2, o2 bear against insulation; when the body v is pulled up, contact is made through strip 111,

The operation of starting the engineis as follows: Assuming that the automobile is at rest with the brake applied to prevent the car from moving, either one of the throttles, preferably the hand-throttle P, is vopened to deliver gas to the .enginerinquantity sufiicient to start it.' The switchl 32 is then closed, thereby causing current to flow from the battery C2 (though of course a separate battery might be used) through the coil of magnet M, which pulls up itsarmature and the member B carried thereby. The circuits thus made are as follows: from positive terminal of battery C through wire e2, bar c2, brush. k3, plate B2, brush k2, bar c2, Wire e2, brush T, collector ring D', brushes E, coil Hf, ring D2, brush T2, wire f1, bar d1, brush g1, bar B', brush k1, bar c1, wire el, brush T3, ring D2, coil H2, brushes E2, ring D4, brush T4, wire f2, 'bar d2, brush g2, plate B3, brush g3, bar d3, wire f2, to negative end of battery C, thence from positive end of battery C4 through wire c, bar o2,

brush la", bar B, brush 96, bar als, wire f,

on until the negative end of battery C is reached.

nected in lcircuit at brushes E', E2, so that the dynamo acting as a shunt-wound motor starts the engine. Thereupon the switch 32.

f At the same time, the armature has been con- 8 then restores the parts of the controller l to the neutral position shown in Fig. 2.

"With the engine running, the hand-throttle is turned to the minimum gas positlon in.

which, while the gas 'admission valve is open enough to keep the engine running, the" contactsR, S, are not bridged. The switch V, which up to this time has been open, is then closed and the throttle lever moved to further open the throttle valve.l This further movement ofV the throttle lever causes the blade Q to bridge the contacts R, S, and as the switch V is now closed, the circuit to the magnet M is completed. The magnet M now pulls up its armature and with it the multiple member A, thereby connecting the dynamo and battery circuits in multiple. The circuits `now closed mayv be traced ,from (positive pole) brushes E', through coil :t ring D2, brush T2, wire f1, brush 1, plate A2, brush 2, wire f2, brush T4, ring D", to brushes E2. A lsecond circuit in parallel to that just described goes from brush T, wire e2, brush h2, plate A2, brush h1, wire e1, brush T3, ring D2, coil H2, to `brushes E2. negative poles of the batteries have been connected through their wires f2, f4, f5, f, and brushes 2, i4, 5, 6, to plate A2, and the positive ends of the batteries have been connected through wires e2, e4, e5, c", -and brushes 11.2, 71,2, h5, la, with plate A. In this position of the controller, the field coils are connected in multiple, and the batteries are v also in multiple, both coils and batteries beopen positions of either throttle, the operation of thef'controlleris automatic. Thus if the automobile be running aty high speed and the throttle be shut olf to lower the speed of the engine, the controller will be automatically operated to break the dynamocirl cuits while, when the gas is again turned on, the throtttle lever will close the controller circuit and the dynamo circuits will` again be brought into operative position.

In order to automatically out out the storage batteryas higher speeds vare reached, I

At the same time all the ist - any well-known type.

insert between-the wires 'm2 and m3 l'iff.

1) an 'automatic cut-out, which may be of As illustrated, it comprises a high resistance coil and a low resistance coil 61, wound about U-shaped cores flexibly secured at their upper portions by a resilient steel strip 62. At their lower ends they carry suitable binding posts for the necessary circuit connections. The circuit connections are from the wire e2 (connected to the positive brush E, oit' the dynamo), wire m, high resistance coil 60, wii'e f7, wire f?, to the negative pole E2 of the dynamo. The cores are thus inagiietized and an additional circuit is closed at 63, 64, current now flowing also from wire m2, through contacts 63, 64, wire m3, and wire ci" to the positive poles of the battery (iii multiple). In case it is not desired to use the automatic cut-out, the switch S may be closed. The manner in which this cut-out operates is as follows: As the speed of the' automobile increases, the centrifugal clutching eiiect increases and the relative speed of the dynamo rotors is decreased, thereby gradually diminishing the generated voltage, until it reaches a point where the battery voltage is sufficient to reverse the current, whereupon the cut-out acts and the circuit is broken at G3, 64, thus automatically cutting out the battery. The dynamo circuits, however,l remain intact, and are still effective to produce whatever clutching power-be demanded, the current generated in the armature flowing through the ield circuits.' In operation, whenever the voltage-generated by the ,dynamo-electric clutch is lless than that of the battery, the cut-out operates to eXcludethe storage battery from the system;- This may occur, and this is the 'essential feature of niy invention, when thev automobile is increasing in speed. Thus, as

vthe speed increases, the centrifugal action speed rises the centrifugal lclutching effect increases, .and may increase after the battery has been cut out, to such an extent as to prevent any current being generated in the armature'to flow over the field; and may even prevent any slip between the two rotors. The edect of the battery current owing in the reverse direction through the dynamo circuits is to increase the slip by trying to drive the dynamo as a motor, (as described in my Patent 1,126,060). This reactive or braking el'ect is entirely obviated'bymy present invention.

Itwjill .be vnoted that the automatic cutout is. in that circuit which isdeli-vering incassa current for charging the, battery, and at the same time producing the clutching effect.

1t will be understood that my invention is applied to gas-engine driven automobiles, equipped in the yusual way, the power being transmitted from the driven shaft to the driving axle through variable transmission gearing. My dynamo-electric clutch takes the place of the fly-wheel, and acts simply as a means for transmitting to the driven shaft all thefpower developed by the engine, except the small amount of power required to produce the electrical energy used in the clutch.

I claim:

1. A dynamo-electric clutch having a rotatable armature, a rotatable eld, a centrii'ugally acting clutch between the armature and ield, a storage battery in circuit, and an automatic cut-out in the battery circuit.

2. A dynamo-electric clutch having a rotatable armature, a rotatable field, an internal coininutator on the armature, centrifuga-lly actuated current-collecting and clutching devices engaging the commutator, a storage battery in circuit, and an automatic cut-out in the battery circuit.

3. A power transmission system compris.

ing a variable speed engine, a driving shaft connected to the engine, and a driven shaft vconnected to the load, a dynaino-electric parts .are adapted to frictionally engage, a`

storage battery, land automatic means for including the storage battery in ucircuit at lower speeds and cutting it out at higher speeds.

4. A power transmission system comprising a variable speed engine, a driving shaft connected to the'engine, and a driven shaft connected to the load, a dynamo-electric clutch'comprising a rotatable armature and a rotatable'eld magnet, one connected to the driving shaft and the other to the driven shaft, one of, the said rotors having movably connected thereto parts adapted to be actuated by centrifugal force and the other rotor having a member with which said parts are adapted to rictionally engage, a storage battery, and an vautomatic cut-out arranged to exclude the storage battery from the system, whenever the centrifugal action causes the diminution of the generator voltage lto a point below the voltage of the battery.

5. A power-transmission system comprising a variable speed engine, a driving lshaft connected tothe engine, and a driven-shaft clutch comprising a rotatable armature and a rotatable field magnet, one connected'to Y thelriving shaft and the other to the driven shaft, one of the said rotors having movably connected thereto parts adapted to be actuated-by centrifugal force and the other rotor having a memberwith which said parts .are adapted to frictionally engage, a storage battery, and an automatic 'cut-ont arranged to cut out the battery when the voltage of the storage battery exceeds that l of the dynamo.

6. power transmission system comprising a variable speed engine, a driving shaft connected to the engine, and a driven shaft connected to the load, a dynamo-electric clutch comprising a rotatable armature and a rotatable field magnet, one connected to the driving shaft and the other to the driven copies ofvthi's patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the shaft, one of the-said rotors having movably I connected thereto parts adapted tofbe actuated by centrifugal force and the other rotor having a member with which said parts are adapted to rrictionally engage, a storage battery, a controlling switch arranged to connect the cells of the battery in series or in multiple circuit with the dynamo terminals, and an automatic cut-out for the storage battery in the -multiple circuit.

7. A power transmission system comprising a dynamo-electric current-generating clutch having a rotatable armature and a rotatable field, a storage battery in circuit with said dynamo, and an automatic cut-out for the storage battery located inthe clutching circuit. I

' In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of `two witnesses.

WILLIAM MORRISON.

Commissioner of Patents,

'Washingtom D. C,- 

